"Roots. That's a good word for it. Everybody's got a family tree and just to know how the roots grew, well that gives you a sense of who you are." spoken by Martha Corinne Walton, The Waltons, Episode 10, 1976

David's Reformed Church Congregation

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Tombstone Tuesday Extra - Johnny Morehouse and his Dog

At Dayton's historic Woodland Cemetery is found this beautiful and unusual tombstone. It's the resting place of Johnny Morehouse and it's one of the most visited sites in Woodland. According to the story, Johnny's father, John, owned a shoe repair shop and Johnny and his family made their home in the back of the shop. They lived very near the Miami and Erie Canal that ran through downtown Dayton. If you are familiar with the Dayton area, the canal ran where Patterson Blvd. is now located. One day, Johnny fell into the canal while playing. His dog jumped into the canal to save him and actually pulled him from the water, but Johnny had already drowned. He was laid to rest here at Woodland Cemetery and the legend states that several days after his burial, his dog appeared at his gravesite and refused to leave. People began bringing him food and water. People are so touched by the story of Johnny and his dog that they still bring little gifts to the gravesite. On the day that we were there, we found that someone had placed an Ohio State sweatshirt on the dog figure and there were many stuffed animals and tiny kid's meal toys that had been left. Sometimes people leave money here and there is a woman who gathers the money and uses it to buy items for the gravesite. If you would like to read more and see an additional photo see the Woodland Cemetery website here:http://www.woodlandcemetery.org/GravestoneStories.htm

3 comments:

Very interesting story. My Grandmother's brother and his wife (King and Lillie Newby) are buried in this cemetery. A sister and her husband Jewell and Ralph Ledford are buried in the Davids Cemetery you referred to in a post from a few days ago. Small world! They lived in Dayton,Oh for many years.

The Graphics Fairy

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